Hello! I wanted to talk about (as the title suggests) why I chose the Open University (OU) for my degree. This was a long roundabout way as to how I landed on this path. So I will be going, in quite a lot of detail – sorry! -how I ended up choosing OU and why.
Why do I want to talk about it?
I hadn’t heard much of the OU apart from a long time ago one of my sisters’ teacher used it to get her masters while still in her full-time teaching job. Anyways, that’s how I originally discovered it, while I was still in school, but a lot of their marketing and target audiences are those in full-time jobs or careers who want to change or earn the qualifications. But I had not seen a younger person use it instead of the ‘normal’ universities. I am sure I am not the first one, in fact someone a year or so younger than me started not long after me after their original uni didn’t work out for them as I explained how this is a really helpful way to approach a degree and studying.
Therefore, I want to show other young people who are not sure if they want to go to uni but want or need a degree, that there is another option that might not had been considered yet!
How did I end up applying to the OU?
This is a long waffle-y story, sorry!!
Well, as my A-levels were approaching I still hadn’t decided what I wanted to do after my exams. I had finally decided to not go to uni but I didn’t know what was next and I always had the question of ‘but what if I wanted a job that needs a degree?’.
I then remembered an old idea I had to do an apprenticeship! Wasn’t sure what in as I didn’t really have any passions at the time I just studied and worked. So I based it off of what subject I was performing the best in which happened to be my preferred subject at A-level, business! At the time I felt like marketing was my favourite topic that I could do well in, this led to me landing a degree apprenticeship in digital marketing with a small digital marketing services firm. I was really excited for this opportunity as I got to gain work experience, which is increasingly desirable to employers, while gaining the qualifications!
However, this quickly became an unhappy time for me and, over a span of three months, I realised the company was not the right fit for me and I was extremely unhappy working there. So I quit! Unfortunately, at the time I had quit it was unlikely I was able to find a new employer to take me on as an apprentice so I withdrew from the program.
Right, ok. It’s Christmas, I don’t have a job or a degree course to work on… what do I do now? I let Christmas pass and then it was time to get back into gear. After months of job and apprenticeship hunting, I realised I don’t even know what career I actually wanted. I knew I didn’t like marketing so I did some research. Turns out I’d be pretty good as a project manager! So with a bit of googling and research I learned that to get into project management I need managerial experience (I can get that easy!) and… a bachelor degree. Of course it does! Right back to Google, and there is where I stumbled across the OU! It doesn’t need any entry requirements, fully remote, mainly independent learning and can do it full-time or part-time to work around jobs! This looked to be an easy way to get onto a course and earn a degree.
So I signed up to a full-time (3 years) bachelor degree course in Business and Management!
Why did I choose OU?
As I mentioned I hadn’t seen anyone young using it to study for their degree before, but as I researched it I realised it is a helping hand to achieving what I want with less hassle! I had essentially found a way to make my own, private DIY apprenticeship!
I decided to work alongside the course part-time, and gain as many different skills and experiences as possible, to make my CV look as attractive as possible.
Over the summer of my first and second years at uni I came across another wedding venue offering 0-hour contract housekeeping jobs! Jackpot! So I started there and a month after was offered a housekeeping supervisor role! Double jackpot – the exact experience I was looking for! And had worked as a supervisor through my entire second year and that summer, but as my third year approached I stepped down to focus on my final year but still staying on as a housekeeper as I loved the team I worked with.
Went on a slight tangent there but it shows how flexible it was for me to work and gain the experience I wanted to earn while studying with OU to earned he qualifications I wanted!
Another great benefit to studying with the OU as a full-time student is that you are free to study your degree anywhere you like! So I have taken advantage of this and taken my studies with me abroad on holiday, multiple times!
This has been the best choice I could’ve made as it has made life fun and easier while still being a valuable experience and something to have under my belt in the future! My sister is currently studying a degree in veterinary science at a ‘normal’ uni and it is clear the reasons I didn’t want to go were accurate and I made the right choice for me!
So…
Of course I am not try and to convince you to go to OU, everyone works different, but if uni isn’t going to plan, not a good fit for you or not sure what you’re doing with life or jobs or whatever, this is an option I didn’t expect to work for me at 19 and it was probably one of the best decisions I ever made.
So that is why I am sharing my experience and how it is a good option to look into for some people, who have busy lives or just aren’t sure about their next steps.
Please enjoy the rest of your time, you are always welcome here.
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